{
  "abstract": "Tissues are composites of living cells and extracellular matrix (ECM), that jointly determine their unique mechanical behavior. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that contractile cells remodel the ECM by generating long-range bands of aligned and densified fibers that mechanically couple cells into multicellular clusters. Using a finite-element model, we quantify the collective mechanical interactions mediated by these ECM bands for various volume fractions of cells. The model incorporates contractile particles that mimic cell-active forces within a nonlinear biological gel, inducing stiffening internally rather than through external loading. We find that even a small volume fraction of contractile particles (approximately 10%), much below what is expected for percolation of sphere contacts, leads to internal stiffening, mediated by the high-concentrated stress bands between cells and is strongly dependent on the nonlinear mechanical response of the ECM. Percolation analysis of the band network reveals sharp transitions at a critical particle volume fraction, that aligns with the onset of internal stiffening. These results demonstrate that long-range interaction between contractile cells through the deformation of the medium has the potential to globally shape the structure and mechanics of the bulk gel, leading to a functional structure with modified properties. These modified macroscopic changes can define organizing principles in tissue patterning and morphogenesis.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.31860",
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Ran Glinowiecki"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shahar Goren"
    },
    {
      "name": "Oren Tchaicheeyan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Bar Ergaz"
    },
    {
      "name": "Robin L. B. Selinger"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yair Shokef"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ayelet Lesman"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c0sa5v76mv6kh.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.31860",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "c0sa5v76mv6kh",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.31860",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.soft"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1307|Cellular Mechanics and Interactions"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214788798",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.31860",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-25",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c0sa5v76mv6kh.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:25:12Z",
      "native_id": "2609.31860",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.31860"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.soft",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Mechanical Clustering of Cells via the ExtraCellular Matrix",
  "title_text": "Mechanical Clustering of Cells via the ExtraCellular Matrix",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:25:12Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c0sa5v76mv6kh",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}